Embodiments consistent with this invention pertain to non-real-time (NRT) video services for Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) compliant digital terrestrial broadcasting. An NRT video service is one in which the audio/video content is streamed from the broadcaster to receiving devices at a slower rate or a faster rate (or a combination thereof) than real-time rate. Receiving devices utilize local storage to capture the streaming files so they can be made available to viewers upon arrival of a complete file, or playback can begin prior to complete download of the entire file.
NRT video services are presently available in a number of forms. For example, TiVo™ supports these today on the TiVo HD and TiVo Series 3 Personal Video Recorders using proprietary technology using the Internet as a distribution channel. However, there currently exists no standard way to implement these services for ATSC terrestrial broadcasts for playback on fixed television installations where Internet access is not available. Furthermore, the metadata associated with NRT services, including lists of available content and their descriptions would need to accompany the terrestrial broadcast even if the Internet could be used by the receiver to actually retrieve the files.